


A Change Is Gonna Come

by Straight_Outta_Hobbiton



Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016), X-Men - All Media Types
Genre: Fix-It of Sorts, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-22
Updated: 2020-01-22
Packaged: 2021-02-27 08:55:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,024
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22354441
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Straight_Outta_Hobbiton/pseuds/Straight_Outta_Hobbiton
Summary: Kali wakes up in the aftermath of men with guns to find herself well and truly safe— possibly for the very first time.
Comments: 5
Kudos: 81
Collections: ehxmen





	A Change Is Gonna Come

**Author's Note:**

> Wrote this some time after season two aired as the beginning of an epic crossover that I then promptly lost interest in. This bit of it I liked, though.

Kali opens her eyes to a sterile white room and feels dread pool in her stomach. This is it. They’ve caught her once more, and this time, she doesn’t think she’ll find a way out.

To her right, she can hear the beep of a heart monitor spike dramatically. There are… tubes. Tubes attached to her, with needles and tape and cotton. Why? What’s happening?

“No need to be afraid any longer, my dear. You are safe.”

Kali turns her head, wincing at the strain. A man is seated in a comfortable armchair that most certainly isn’t standard issue beside her, legs crossed and a book balanced on his knee. He gives her a small, encouraging smile.

“You’re lucky we found you when we did,” he tells her. “The humans were about ready to execute you, along with the rest of your friends.”

Kali’s lips part.

“Alive?”

The man gives her a small frown, then shakes his head.

“No, I’m afraid not,” he says. “We could do nothing for them, though we did try.”

Kali closes her eyes. Funshine, Axel, Mick, Dottie… all gone.

“... So you’ve found me again,” she croaks. “What will you do to me this time?”

The man’s frown deepens.

“Again? I don’t believe we’ve ever met before. Are you familiar with my organization?”

Kali turns away.

“The labs,” she says. “You work for the labs.”

There’s a beat of silence.

“I admit, I do not,” the man says. “Though perhaps that explains the tattoo on your wrist.”

Kali’s face twists.

“Don’t lie,” she says. “It won’t work. I know who you work for.”

“Do you? I rather think we’re talking about two very different organizations,” the man disagrees. “Tell me, child— what is your name?”

Kali blinks. How does he expect her to answer? By her number? Well, she won’t give him the satisfaction.

“Kali,” she hisses, and when she turns to him, her eyes are full of fire— or, at least, it looks like it to him. “My name is _ Kali.” _

She expects some sign of nervousness or distress, or maybe no response at all. She doesn’t expect the little smile the man gives her.

“Beautiful,” he says. “Truly beautiful. Your ability, then— is it fire-based?”

Kali blinks, and the flames disappear.

“What?”

“You mutant ability,” he says again. “You’re a pyrokinetic?”

Mutant? What on earth is the man talking about?

He seems to see her confusion, and his smile drops.

“Kali,” he says, almost cautious. “Kali, my poor child— do you know what you are?”

She stares at him, silent. He sighs.

“I am called Magneto,” he tells her. “And I am like you.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“It means I have abilities that are beyond most human comprehension,” Magneto says. “I am what is commonly known as a mutant— as are you.”

“Liar,” she says, brow knotting as her mouth twists into a frown. “You’re too old.”

The man smiles at her again.

“No,” he says. “I’m not.”

He reaches into his pocket and pulls out a small, silvery marble. Still smiling, he lets the marble roll into the center of his palm. A moment later, it starts to float, twisting this way and that as it flattens, then lengthens, then forms a small, ring before dropping back into his palm.

“I can manipulate any metal as I please,” he tells her, almost casually, fingers closing around the ring. “I’ve had this ability since I was quite young, which was quite a long time ago, by your reckoning. Perhaps by mine, as well.”

“I— but you’re too old,” Kali says again. “You— the project only began ten years ago.”

Magneto’s smile fades.

“My dear,” he says slowly. “You must explain— what labs?”

“I—” Kali looks down. “My— I thought we were the only ones.”

Magneto’s face darkens.

“What labs, Kali?” he asks. “What evils have you suffered?”

She bites her lip.

“You’re not one of them?” she asks, voice small.

“No,” he promises. “Whoever hurt you, I took no part in their cruelty. That, I promise you. In fact, I am almost certain my position is quite opposite to theirs.”

Kali stares at him a moment longer, then looks away.

He sighs.

“We’ll save that for another time, then,” he says. “Perhaps when we know each other better.” He pushes himself to his feet, tucking his book under one arm. “For now, know that you are safe. No harm will come to you here. Rest. It’s been a long time since we recovered you from your battleground.”

Kali shifts. Her hands aren’t bound, and the room— it has a television in it, and a little door beside the open, empty closet that seems to lead to a bathroom.

She looks back at Magneto, and he smiles at her.

“Rest, my dear,” he says. “If you’re feeling up to it later, I can introduce you to the rest of my friends— they’ve been very eager to meet you, since we brought you back.”

Kali sniffs, and Magneto looks amused.

“Well, whatever suits you,” he says. “It was good to meet you, Miss Kali. Have a good afternoon.”

He doesn’t close the door behind him all the way, leaving it cracked as if to let her know she has the freedom to go where pleases, even though it’s quite clear after the first few minutes of struggling to sit up under her own power that she doesn’t have the strength. Sighing, she lets herself slump back into the pillows, exhausted.

Maybe… maybe she  _ can _ rest, just for a minute. Just until she catches her breath.

If there’s a television, there must be a remote, and when she turns to check the side table beside the bed, she’s proven right. Pleased, she drags the remote from its place, pausing when she catches sight of something shiny.

The ring Magneto had made— he’d left it.

Frowning, she reaches for the ring, bringing it up to her nose as she inspects it. It’s steel, she thinks, a simple, thick band with the lightest pattern of spirals etched along the outer edges of the ring.

It also fits her first finger perfectly.


End file.
